The present invention relates to molds and associated mold locking systems, and in particular, to two-piece molds for molding various materials which solidify upon cooling or otherwise, and even more particularly, to a mold and associated locking system for molding confectionary materials such as chocolate.
Generally, two-piece molds are employed in the forming of two-sided chocolate items. The molds are splittable into two sections once the poured chocolate has hardened. When making two-sided hollow or solid chocolate items, after the chocolate is poured into the mold, the mold must be violently vibrated to release the air bubbles from the still liquid chocolate. The molds are then placed into a cooling tunnel to solidify the chocolate and subsequently opened to remove the cast figures.
With conventional molds, especially during the vibration process, chocolate tends to seep out of the mold at the region where the two sections of the mold join. As the molds are reused, this chocolate builds up externally and acts as an insulator, interfering with the cooling process. Additionally, if not cleaned, the chocolate remaining in the joint regions of the mold intereferes with subsequent locking and pouring operations. Further, the figures tend to attach to the accumulated chocolate, forcing manufacturers to resort to mechanical means such as banging to free the figures from the mold. This means the molds must be washed frequently. So severe is this problem, many manufacturers refrain from making products requiring two-sided chocolate molding.
Previous devices to lock the mold halves together suffer from serious drawbacks. Locks placed around the outside of the mold apply pressure to the perimeter of the mold only. This causes the outside to be squeezed together and the inside to bulge. This tends to allow the chocolate to leak around the joint regions between the two mold halves. Further, the locks can interfere with the machinery, such as conveyors, etc., that must handle the mold because they extend past the mold boundaries.
A more recent technique that has been used is the placement of magnets around the inside of the mold to hold the two halves together; however, magnets are very expensive and further, the pull they exert weakens with distance. Additionally, chocolate can accumulate on the magnets themselves. This results in a severe loss of locking power. Accordingly, the problem with magnets is that they do not provide a positive mechanical lock.
Many present molds, and all of those with magnets, use a hinge on one side to simplify the locking process; however, during the molding process, the stress to which the molds are subjected causes the hinges eventually to misalign. The major problem is the banging sometimes required to release the figures from the mold. The misalignment of the hinge results in misalignment of the figures which must then be rejected for quality reasons. What is needed is a locking system whose locking force increases as the vibration process attempts to force it open, that is easy to lock and unlock, that will not misalign with time or abuse, that allows easy and convenient removal of the items molded and that will not allow chocolate to escape during the vibration process.